Kippers and crabs.

School starts on wednesday. We haven't had any days out this year, we just loved our barn, today I thought that we would take a trip out and enjoy the last chance to holiday it up a bit. We went to Looe, in cornwall which is a splendid place to be. Seaside and fish and chips ( of the most delicious order, perfection in paper, sat on a wall with seagulls threatening to steal from our very hands)

H stayed at home to take delivery of our crunchy gravel order and enjoy some peace and quiet while he spread the gravel and finished up in the garden, also cleaning and tidying inside which was heaven to come home to when we were very tired and stinky.

We picked up Jane, Kate and Billy and off we went.

I love Looe, I grew up around that area and worked right on the seafront as a teenager, piercing ears and engraving china mugs, selling revolting glass fish and other hideous ornaments and souvenirs that somehow become beautiful and collectable when you are on holiday and suffering from overload of sunshine and ice cream.

After a fish and chip lunch, a wander through the town and a play on the beach we took the kids across the bridge and with crablines in hand we went crab fishing. Such fun! Amazing too, to see the difference in personality between Seth and Isaac so glaringly obvious. Isaac, gentle and patient, lowering his line down amongst the dark seaweed and rocks and waiting, when he felt a tug on his line, so slowly and gently and quietly he would lift and THERE! LOOK! A crab.

Seth, competitive and eager, casting the line and then wiggling and pulling and YANK that line and I GOT ONE I GOT ONE!!! Oh...it fell off, MINE WAS BIGGEST.....but it fell off I am going to get another one I GOT ONE! Oh..it fell off.

I took so many pictures, eventually the batteries in my camera died and THEN, then Seth caught the BIGGEST crab, the BEST crab.....

Did we stink when we drove home? Yes, we did indeed. We used great big chunks of smoked kipper as bait, we spent very little and had enormous fun. 3 little boys asleep within minutes of their bath and story.

The outside of the house is looking pretty lovely too, I didn't order quite enough gravel so we will need to pick up a few more bags but what a difference and a gloriously loud crunch to deter any would be breakers in.

Can you believe my rotten tooth is hurting again? All that work with the double root canal and now it has to be pulled, no appointment available until thursday which is a nightmare, so lots of painkillers and a fight against extreme grumpiness until then.

Tomorrow I really have to work on getting straight here, somehow we are more disorganised than when we first moved in. At first we had everything piled up in the front room, now we have begun to unpack and empty the room ( which smells of clean laundry and lovely things now, glory be) and everywhere I look there is 'stuff' I just hate disorder. I like neat and tidy and organised things. I must get it done.......but maybe we might have to spend the last day of the school hols having just a bit more fun, what do you think? Yeah, me too.